Showing results by author "E.F. Benson" in All Categories

In the beautiful Villa Cascana on the Italian Riviera, all is not as it seems. Why does the hostess leave a perfectly charming bedroom unoccupied? Why does Arthur Inglis present our hero with a caterpillar in a cardboard pill-box one lunchtime? And rather more bizarrely, why do luminous, bloated and gigantic versions of this creature haunt his dreams? Or could it possibly be that he is wide awake?

In einem aus der Zeit gefallenen Ort namens St. Gervase in Cornwall steht ein uralter Brunnen, dem nachgesagt wird, ein Wunschbrunnen zu sein. Als Reverend Lionel Eusters, der Gemeindegeistliche in St. Gervase, für ein Kapitel seines neuen Buchs ausgerechnet über Wunschbrunnen recherchiert, erregt dies auch die Aufmerksamkeit seiner Tochter Judith.

The Mapp and Lucia Collection: Books 1-3 contain the first three novels in the Mapp & Lucia series from E.F. Benson. These beloved novels are classic comedies of manners set within an English village in the 1920s and 1930s.

"Dodo Wonders" is the third and final installment in the "Dodo" series by E. F. Benson. The series was rumoured to be based on Lady Asquith, though she herself claimed that she had little in common with the character of Dodo - except the splendour of her drawing-room, perhaps. The glitzy life of Lady Dodo Chesterford is abruptly interrupted by the arrival of World War I. Along with her husband and their friends, Lady Dodo is faced with the challenge of rapidly adapting to an unfamiliar and dangerous new environment.

When a Londoner retreats to the Cornish Coast for a break, he encounters a veiled woman. Could it be the ghost of intrepid explorer Miss Alice Trellings, who disappeared whilst staying at the hotel?

Keen to escape London to work on their respective music scores and novel, two cousins stumble across a rural holiday let that is well below their budget. But it soon proves too good to be true when something on the top landing starts spooking them and their staff.

When Philip Hope discovers that his wife, Sybil, is having an affair with his secretary, Julian, he takes great delight in thwarting their affections. Just as Philip dismisses his secretary, though, he falls from a cliff, and Julian doesn’t save him. Now free to be together, Sybil and Julian return to the place Philip died, but it becomes clear that Philip is not finished with them yet as he haunts their honeymoon.

Hester Ward is blessed with youth, health, beauty, a husband and two adorable children, but she is being tormented by a face in her dreams. It is hoped that a holiday by the coast will relieve her, but the face eventually manifests itself.

Harry Pershore knocks down a wall to create a secret garden, despite warnings from his friend who has spotted that the patch of land has been walled off for a reason and is actually an altar of sacrifice. Pershore ignores his friend’s advice and it’s not long before strange things start happening in the garden.

A grisly spirit turns travelling companion for an unwitting traveller on the top deck of a London bus one bleak winter’s night in this short story.

‘The Bath-Chair’ tells the story of the Faraday siblings. Edmund is a shrewd businessman, priding himself on his impeccable health. His spinster sister, Alice, lives with him performing all domestic duties and despises him. When Edmund starts seeing a lame figure who looks startlingly like himself and his own health starts mysteriously declining, Alice revels in plotting his downfall.

‘The Outcast’ tells the story of Mrs Bertha Acres, who is handsome and charming company, but inspires horror and dread in all who meet her, most notably her husband who killed himself after only a month of marriage. She starts afresh in a new village, but she is cursed to always be an outcast.

Set in the remote Yorkshire Valleys, the narrator in this story returns to the holiday home of his childhood. He has inherited the house from his uncle and has come to oversee the renovations with a friend. However, it soon becomes apparent the house is haunted by a ghost with an awful secret.

In the remote town of Firham-By-Sea, two holidaymakers are curious about the derelict Corner House and its mysterious owners. Upon investigation, they unveil the grim story of Mr and Mrs Labson.

Brain surgeon Dr Francis Assheton is sceptical when one of his oldest friends holds a séance to show him ‘The Thing’ that has been appearing at his home. But when he witnesses it for himself and his friend then dies in mysterious circumstances, the doctor must recount his tale before it is too late.

Thomas Oulton has worked for a London banking house for 30 years and is widely respected by his colleagues, so when he seemingly disappears with a client’s money, everyone is shocked, none more so than his manager, Louis Carrington. When a friend comes to spend the weekend with Louis and his family at their Surrey home, a series of strange phenomena leads the narrator to discover what’s happened to Oulton.

An early exploration of electronic voice phenomena, ‘Billy Comes Through’ sees a widowed writer recall the curious phenomena that her and her husband experienced over the years with their wireless radio, during a power cut.

Concerned for their recently widowed friend Harry, Vincent and Tom join him in Egypt for a boat trip along the Nile. Whilst the widower seems determined to forget his late wife, he recreates their honeymoon voyage, and their evening games of cards soon attract an unsettling presence.

'A Winter Morning' is a dark story of longing and regret. It sees a widower, mourning both his wife and son, recall his son’s final moments and contemplate life and death.

"Just room for one inside, sir," isn't quite as bone-chilling as hearing "room for one more, honey" in one of the Twilight Zone's most popular episodes, "Twenty Two." The Rod Serling masterpiece was inspired by E.F. Benson's "The Bus-Conductor". A ghost bears the chilling news instead of a recurring dream in Benson's chiller.